The Professor Is In Book Summary - The Professor Is In Book explained in key points

The Professor Is In summary

Name: The Professor Is In
Author: Karen Kelsky

Karen Kelsky

The Essential Guide To Turning Your Ph.D. Into A Job

16 mins

Brief summary

The Professor Is In by Karen Kelsky is a guide for graduate students and job seekers navigating the academic job market. It provides insider advice on everything from writing a strong cover letter to acing the interview process.

Topics

Job Hunt

Table of Contents

The Professor Is In
Summary of 9 key ideas

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Key idea 1 of 9

What’s in it for me? Learn how to land a job in academia.

Do you dream of a life as a university professor? Well, you should know that getting a good position at a reputable university is becoming increasingly difficult, as more and more graduates compete to land one of the few available positions. By keeping a few things in mind, however, you can dramatically increase your chances of success.

As these blinks show, you must demonstrate to potential employers not only that you’re doing interesting research but that you’re socially adept and know how to collaborate with others.

In these blinks, you’ll learn

what’s wrong with your CV;
why having a clear academic identity is so important; and
why you should avoid fancy vocabulary during your job interview.

Changing financial circumstances have made pursuing an academic career difficult.

An academic career can be highly rewarding. But studying at a recognized university has become extremely expensive, and so a life in academia might also mean a life in debt. Here’s why:

Under financial pressure caused by a decrease in public funding, American universities have had to increase public university tuition. As a result, more and more students graduate deep in debt.

Public colleges, too, have raised their tuition fees. From 2008 to 2014, the annual inflation-adjusted tuition at public colleges went up by 27 percent, an overall average increase of $1,850. In Arizona and California, tuition fees rose by more than 70 percent!

And so, during the last few years, student debt has also increased drastically. In 2012, the average debt for a fresh graduate was $29,400 – 25 percent higher than the average debt in 2008. In 2014, the average graduate’s debt was $57,600.

What happened? Mainly, it comes down to the state’s spending less on higher education. Between 2008 and 2013, for instance, spending dropped by 28 percent.

Additionally, during the last few years, universities have concentrated on hiring administrative personnel like deans and provosts, rather than hiring teachers. According to the US Department of Education, the number of administrators hired by colleges and universities between 2001 and 2011 was 50 percent greater than the number of instructors hired.

The sad reality is that teaching work is mostly assigned to hired adjuncts who get paid as little as $1,800 per month for instructing university classes. On top of the paltry pay, most academics at universities end up working in less-than-desirable circumstances.

Furthermore, in 2013, only 25 percent were on a permanent tenure track – something especially problematic for graduate students towing hefty debts.

So graduate students face an uphill battle when it comes to finding a job. And most of them don’t even know it! In the next blink, we’ll shed some more light on the situation.

Graduate students underestimate the harsh job conditions in academia.

Securing a job in academia is no walk in the park, and many job seekers naively start sending out applications, oblivious to the challenges awaiting them. This is particularly true for graduate students, who often entertain unrealistic fantasies about the academic job market.

Typically, there are three beliefs graduates hold: the first is that having a well-known advisor guarantees landing a good job; the second is that passion for a field of research suffices to set a candidate apart; and, finally, that good ideas are more important than a good CV.

Clarifying your academic identity can rectify common mistakes made during your job search.

Learning from other people’s mistakes can vastly improve your chances of success, and if you’re looking to land a job in academia, it’s especially helpful to locate where others went wrong. When looking for a job, graduate students unwittingly sabotage themselves in three main ways.

First, they babble on about their dissertation during job interviews. In reality, the interviewers are far more interested in knowing what value a candidate can bring to the institution, such as how many papers they are planning to publish and the grants they can get.

Your cover letter must be specific, factual and well structured.

Everyone understands the importance of a top-notch CV when applying for any job. But one thing that is often neglected is the cover letter. Here’s how to write a cover letter that will put you ahead of the pack.

There are four structuring rules for creating a great cover letter.

A good CV is about quantity, quality and the principle of peer review.

Now that you have a focused, professional cover letter, you must accompany it with a quality CV.

Of course, quality content is paramount, but quantity also matters. In fact, you should be able to add something of value to your CV each month. It might be a national conference you attended, a talk you gave on campus or a grant you were awarded.

Your teaching statement should be professional and explain your teaching philosophy.

If you’re ardent about working in academia, chances are you’re passionate about teaching. That’s great! But when it comes to writing your teaching statement, you need to be able to communicate this in the right way.

A good teaching statement follows three rules.

Ace your job interview by presenting relevant research and knowing how to properly answer questions.

Once you’ve landed a job interview, you need to consider a few key things. Let’s begin with your research.

When presenting your research, concentrate on its most relevant aspects. In your presentation, as well as in the Q&A session, aim to tailor your research to the position that was advertised. So, if the position concerns nineteenth-century British literature, don’t babble on about the development of postcolonial film. Focus on the research you conducted on nineteenth-century British literature, or how your research is influenced by it.

Know your skill set and your motivation.

Not all graduates set their sights on working in academia. So what if business or industry is more your thing? Well, here’s how to get a job in the non-academic world.

Since it’s likely that many of your academic activities and accomplishments won’t be of instant appeal to potential employers, it pays to know how to translate your skills to fit a more conventional job market. Holding a degree in political science might not catch anyone’s attention, for example, but companies may be interested in someone who can conduct research or write well, skills you may possess.

Good connections, a developed skill set and a willingness to tackle your prejudices are paramount to getting a job.

You know the adage: it’s not what you know, it’s who you know. Well, this is especially true if academia is not the direction you want to head in.

If you’re stepping into the business world, relationships are crucial. Not only will they give you personal support; one of them might land you the job you’re looking for.

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What is The Professor Is In about?

The Professor Is In (2015) lays out the challenges faced by graduate students seeking employment and offers pragmatic advice on how to better the chances of landing an academic position in an increasingly competitive market.

Best quote from The Professor Is In

The American academy is in crisis.

—Karen Kelsky

Who should read The Professor Is In?

Aspiring academics
Graduate students
Anyone pursuing an academic career

About the Author

Karen Kelsky is a former tenured professor and department head. She left academia to start The Professor Is In, a business that offers advice on how to thrive in the world of academia.

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